MIDLAND, Texas – U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons, announced during a press conference today the indictments of Leandro Juarez, Moses Juarez and Eduardo Lopez for several counts related to oil theft.
According to court documents, the FBI began investigating Vallee Oil & Gas Inc. in January 2024. Founded by company president Leandro Juarez, Vallee is a company documented as a salt water disposal, which grants the company with the authority by the state of Texas to accept and dispose of produced water, a byproduct of oil production. The company does not have the authority to purchase crude oil.
The FBI investigation allegedly revealed that, beginning on or about Sept. 20, 2023, and continuing until on or about Feb. 18, 2025, Leandro Juarez, along with the head of Vallee’s West Texas operations Moses Juarez, and principal yard manager Eduardo Lopez, devised and executed a scheme to purchase and receive crude oil that had been stolen from locations in the Permian Basin region of New Mexico and transported across the Texas-New Mexico state line. Vallee’s employees were allegedly directed by the defendants to pay drivers who were hauling the crude oil at approximately half the value of the product they were transporting. The indictment alleges that, during the months of March and April 2024 alone, the defendants directed Vallee employees to issue over $290,000 to a single driver in amounts below $10,000, a tactic used to evade reporting requirements. “The fraud ran deep in this case but, essentially, these defendants were just common thieves stealing from those who had spilled their blood sweat and tears to extract that oil from the ground,” said U.S. Attorney Simmons. “When costs for oil and gas producers go up, the cost for the end purchase—the American taxpayer—also goes up. That’s why we will continue, through this whole of government approach, to take down and hold accountable those who steal oil from other producers.”
“Those who knowingly purchase, move, or profit from stolen oil and other products help create the demand that drives these crimes” said Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Briton Goad of the FBI El Paso, Midland Resident Agency. “We will continue working with our partners to identify those individuals and businesses and hold them accountable.” The three defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to receive stolen goods and three counts of receipt of stolen goods, aiding and abetting. Leandro and Moses Juarez are also charged with one count of conspiracy to engage in monetary transactions with funds derived from a specified unlawful activity.
Leandro Juarez, Moses Juarez and Eduardo Lopez were arraigned in the beginning of September and released on bond. The deadline for any plea agreement is Oct. 16. If the defendants choose to go to trial, jury selection is currently set for Nov. 2. The FBI is investigating the case with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Railroad Commissioner, the Loving County Sheriff’s Office and the Reeves County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Parker is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.